Flood Recovery Centers Open Doors In 3 Cities

Mary Altiery, who watched a tornado annihilate her Plainfield home six years ago and recently battled flood waters in her living room, has become a disaster-center veteran.

Sweeping into the Joliet Disaster Recovery Center on its first day of operation Wednesday, she signed in before heading straight to the blue-jacketed representative from the U.S. Small Business Administration to apply for a low-interest loan.

"The major thing I lost during the flood was that short, two-week section of my life," said Altiery, 36, who was out of town when the first floor of her home filled with more than a foot of water. "But I also lost a lot of personal possessions. I just want to get a loan and get on with my life."

So do the rest of the flood victims, who became eligible for federal assistance when President Bill Clinton on July 25 declared 11 Illinois counties a federal disaster area.

Since then, nearly 11,500 people have called to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance in the form of grants, low-interest loans and other programs.

The centers will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week until officials determine they are no longer needed. Eligible applicants can apply there for disaster housing assistance or grants from FEMA.

They also can receive technical advice and talk to a representative from the Illinois Department of Insurance about problems they might be having with their insurers.

Two centers will open at 1 p.m. Thursday at Sycamore Junior High, 150 Maplewood St., Sycamore; and Mission Township Hall, Rural Route 2, Sheridan. They also will operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily for as long as needed.

Officials stressed it is imperative to register by phone for assistance before coming to a center. To do so, call 1-800-462-9029, or 1-800-462-7585 for speech- or hearing-impaired callers.

It is also possible to complete the aid process over the phone, including filing for a low-interest loan and making an appointment with an SBA assessor. The centers have been set up as an additional aid center.

"Some people want to talk to a face and not an 800 number," said William Lenderking, who is administering FEMA's center in the Naperville City Hall.

So far, the number of people seeking help has been lower than expected. FEMA officials said Wednesday that only a third of the households they believe were affected by the floods have called FEMA's toll-free number. An estimated 33,500 homes suffered some sort of damage, they said.

At the disaster centers, on the first day at least, turnout was low. In Joliet, 12 representatives from the SBA were on hand, and some 14 people trickled in throughout the day.

Joliet's Margie Banda, who was first in line at the center, had not planned on taking advantage of the aid until Tuesday, when she and her husband were told they had to buy a new furnace.

"We'd like to be able to afford to do this on our own but (the flood) is something we weren't expecting," said Banda, who has two 10-year-old children. "To be honest, I don't want to take out a loan, but I don't see any other light at the end of the tunnel."

Flood victims have until Sept. 23 to file for aid. Within about two weeks, they can expect to hear whether they qualify for a loan, according to Marlene Meincke of the SBA.

Homeowners can receive up to $200,000 for real estate losses and up to $40,000 for property losses, she said. Businesses can receive up to $1.5 million. Other aid is available, too, for people who lost their jobs because of the floods and for renters and others.

Meincke worried that people who thought they might not qualify or might not need the assistance would not apply before it was too late.

"I've seen some payments as low as $19 a month," Meincke said.

Don and Donna Kiss of Joliet need a basement wall replaced and said they were very pleased with how things were handled at the center.

"I'm just glad we're here so we can obtain the loan instead of taking it out of our savings," said Donna Kiss. "It's the best way."